Retired NY cop who once shared cell with Jeffrey Epstein and alerted guards to his failed suicide attempt weeks before he killed himself, GUILTY in drug-related quadruple-homicide
Retired cop and body builder, Nicholas Tartaglione, 55, was convicted in a 2015 quadruple-homicide case, in New York federal court on Thursday
He was briefly a cellmate of Jeffrey Epstein, weeks prior to Epstein’s 2019 death
The former NYPD officer turned drug dealer, killed four men – Martin Luna, Miguel Luna,Urbano Santiago, and Hector Gutierrez – in 2015 in a money dispute
Tartaglione believed Martin Luna had cheated him in a cocaine trafficking deal, invited him to a meeting, then kidnapped Luna along with his three companions, before executing them
Tartaglione was arrested in 2017 over conspiracy to distribute more than 11 pounds of cocaine
The bodies were discovered in a mass grave on his Orange County property after his arrest
Nicholas Tartaglione, 55, [photo], was convicted on Thursday on all counts by a federal jury in White Plains, New York, after strangling one man and shooting three others execution-style
The retired New York police officer, turned drug dealer who shared a jail cell with Jeffrey Epstein shortly before the notorious sex predator’s death has been convicted of murdering four men.
Nicholas Tartaglione, 55, was convicted on Thursday on all counts by a federal jury in White Plains, New York, after strangling one man and shooting three others execution-style in a 2015 gangland dispute.
‘Tartaglione’s heinous acts represent a broader betrayal, as he was a former police officer who once swore to protect the very community he devastated,’ said Damian Williams, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, following the verdict.
Related Articles:
Tartaglione, a muscle-bound bodybuilder and former cop in Westchester County’s Briarcliff Manor, briefly shared a cell with Jeffery Epstein at the Manhattan Correctional Center four years ago.
On July 23, 2019 Tartaglione alerted guards, his lawyer said at the time, and Epstein was found on the floor of the cell with neck injuries after an apparent failed attempt to kill himself.
Epstein was placed on suicide watch and transferred to a solo cell, and on August 10, he was found dead inside the cell hanging from a makeshift noose, in what officials ruled a suicide.
Jeffery Epstein [photo], 66, was found dead in a solitary cell on Aug 10, 2019. NYC medical examiner ruled it suicide. The wealthy financier was mired in a string of heinous grooming and abuse of minors that potentially could have ensnared several high profile figures
Prosecutors say that retired NYPD officer Tartaglione masterminded the brutal gangland killings of four men in 2015 after suspecting that one of the victims, Martin Luna, had stolen money from him.
Tartaglione lured Luna into meeting him in a bar in Chester in what became a ‘deadly trap’ for the man and three others he brought along, said Williams.
Martin Luna brought with him to the meeting his nephews Miguel Luna and Urbano Santiago and a family friend, Hector Gutierrez.
‘What occurred next could only be described as pure terror, as Tartaglione tortured Martin, then forced one of his nephews to watch as Tartaglione strangled Martin to death with a zip tie,’ Williams said.
Tartaglione, prosecutors say lured Martin Luna [left] to a bar ‘to track down a drug debt’. Luna brought along two relatives and a family friend, Hector Gutierrez [right]. Luna was strangled to death with a zip tie by Tartaglione in 2015.
Tartaglione and two of his henchmen then bound and transported the other three victims to a remote wooded location in Otisville, forced them to kneel, and executed them with gunshots to the back of the head, the court heard.
All four bodies were buried together in a mass grave, which was discovered by investigators on Tartaglione’s property in December 2016. Tartaglione was arrested in 2017 over conspiracy to distribute more than 11 pounds of cocaine
Williams said the conviction will ensure that ‘Tartaglione faces a lifetime in federal prison for his unconscionable murder of four men.’
Martin Luna Luna brought along a family friend two relatives – Miguel Luna [left] and Urbano Santiago [right], to a bar ‘to track down a drug debt’. The men were then executed. All four bodies were buried together in a mass grave
At trial, Tartaglione’s attorneys insisted he had nothing to do with the killings and was being used by the government as a convenient patsy for the crimes.
Tartaglione’s two alleged henchmen in the murders were Gerard Benderoth, who was also a retired police officer and bodybuilder, and Joseph Biggs, a school security guard.
Benderoth fatally shot himself in 2017 as police and FBI agents attempted to pull him over in a traffic stop.
A muscle-bound bodybuilder and former NYPD officer Nicholas Tartaglione [photo], then charged with quadruple-homicide, briefly shared a cell with Epstein at the Manhattan Correctional Center in 2019
Biggs was arrested and charged alongside Tartaglione, but agreed to cooperate, testifying that he and Benderoth worked collecting debts from customers who bought steroids from Tartaglione at local gyms.
He also detailed how he, Benderoth and Tartaglione carried out the quadruple murder, according to the Journal News.
Joseph Biggs [photo], a school security guard, assisted in taking the four bodies to Tartaglione’s farm 30 minutes away where they were executed and buried
Body builder and former New York cop Gerard Benderoth, [photo], the third suspect in the murders, shot and killed himself in 2017, as police and FBI agents attempted to pull him over in a traffic stop
The conviction came nearly four years after Tartaglione briefly shot to national fame through his connection to Epstein.
In the incident when they were cell mates, Epstein was found semiconscious in a fetal position on the floor of the cell.
Epstein accused Tartaglione of assaulting him, which the former cop denied, saying the disgraced financier had inflicted the injuries himself.
A prison investigation later cleared Tartaglione of assaulting Epstein.
A noose made out of bedsheets is seen in Epstein’s jail cell after his alleged suicide, in 2019
Investigation photos from Epstein’ cell reveal that fragments of material were found hanging from a window, while a large strip of bedding was also looped through a hole on the top bunk bed
Prison officials said at the time they believed the Epstein’s story of being attacked was an attempt to avoid being put on suicide watch.
Weeks later, Epstein was found dead in a solitary cell in what the New York City medical examiner ruled a suicide, though his lawyers disputed that finding.
His death, at age 66, came a little over a month after he was arrested and charged with sex trafficking dozens of underage girls as young as 14 from at least 2002 to 2005.
Epstein’s extensive ties to some of the world’s cultural, financial and political elite brought the case to international prominence.
Leave a Reply